Recently In the Courtyard:

A Royal Wedding Song
Beautiful words fill my mind,
as I compose this song for Love,
Like the pen of a good writer
my tongue is ready with a poem.
— adapted from Psalm 45:1, trans. Good News
♥ ♥ ♥
The summer ends, and it is time
To face another way....
— Wendell Berry, excerpted from "The Summer Ends," A Timbered Choir
We invite you to spend time in … [Read More...]

Responsive prayers by Thomas Robb, appropriate for use in Advent or Lent, or anytime that calls for silent prayer.
More about responsive prayer.
In silence, or aloud, give thanks to God for all that we have… all that we are… all that we may become – be it broken, or complete, or somehow, both.
(Silence) … [Read More...]

Labyrinth
by
William F. Maxwell
The labyrinth is for walking.
Not for trying to understand,
not for anticipating
the quirky turns or sudden
reversals. I’m simply
to follow a path, not
wondering where I’ve been
or where I’m going.
The labyrinth is
for this moment, asking only
that I move quietly along
the ordained path.
Mind and spirit free
to leave habit and comfort
and … [Read More...]

For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven.
— Ecclesiastes 3:1
♦ ♦ ♦
Nothing great is produced suddenly,
since not even the grape or the fig is.
If you say to me now that you want a fig,
I will answer to you that it requires time:
let it flower first, then put forth fruit,
and then ripen.
— Epictetus, Stoic philosopher
We invite you to spend time in … [Read More...]

Now the green blade riseth
from the buried grain,
wheat that in the dark earth
many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again
like wheat that springeth green.
— from hymn #204, The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal)
We invite you to spend time in contemplation with these words from wise ones. Then join in the conversation with your own poetic … [Read More...]

Then I would be dark and wet,
like the deer who lies down
in a hollow and returns to herself,
becoming at last what she always was.
— Barbara Gibson, from "The Wet Woods," Waiting to Fly, Crestline Press, 2013
♦ ♦ ♦
We must let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.
— Joseph Campbell
We invite you to spend time in contemplation with these … [Read More...]

The young man circles the passenger deck, a baby in the crook of his arm. He stops and holds the baby upright in front of a glass case containing a carved Salish mask. The baby gravely examines the face of the mask, then grasps a corner of the case and pushes, as if to make the case turn. The man moves the baby so it can view the mask from the side. After a while the baby pulls on the glass … [Read More...]

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About Margaret & the Courtyard

"In the Courtyard" is a reservoir of reflections, prayers, and poetry that spring from practices of mindfulness and attention. You'll also find here books, classes, retreats, and other services that support mindful practices leading to authentic life.
I'm Margaret D. McGee, the owner of this site. Much of the material that … Read more